A lot went wrong in the first half for Missouri on Sunday.
Many of the school’s students had already departed from campus for their Thanksgiving break, leaving the Antlers missing several dozen members of their usual crowd for the Tigers’ game against Mississippi Valley State. The listed attendance for Mizzou Arena was 7,052 — the lowest of any game this season. It was a different environment the players had grown accustomed to, and one they initially struggled to play in.
Mizzou had a lower-than-average assist-to-turnover ratio at 10-to-8. Though the team typically prides itself on taking advantage of its opponent’s mistakes, the Delta Devils had matched the Tigers’ 10 points off turnovers.
MVSU senior guard Terry Collins was incinerating the hosts’ defense, too, hitting four 3-pointers and torching them for 22 points through the opening 20 minutes. Missouri went into the locker room at halftime holding a slim 40-37 lead.
“(Collins is) a kid that can really, really score, one of the kids that I think could be Player of the Year in their conference,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said. “He's a good player, he made shots. Their team, his teammates found him and all he had to do was catch and shoot. He made some difficult drives as well where I didn't think we walled up correctly.”
But a lot went right for the Tigers in the second half. The team made adjustments and executed well, coming away with an 83-62 win.
To account for a smaller audience, Mizzou had to create its own energy. Graduate senior guard D’Moi Hodge likened it to playing games during the 2020-21 season with the COVID-19 pandemic going on. He said the players fed off each other, with the bench playing a big part.
“In practice, our coaches create energy,” graduate senior guard DeAndre Gholston said. “In practice, we're by ourselves every day. So we try to find a way to bring energy and talk loud.”
The Tigers did a better job of taking care of the job, posting an 11-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio and pouncing on the Delta Devils’ 12 turnovers for 17 points.
They slowed down Collins, too, holding him to five points on 1-7 shooting.
“Our guys took the challenge. They took the challenge amongst themselves to not over-rotate, and now stay a little bit closer than before because he has a quick release,” Gates said. “Instead of switching, we fought through some screens and kind of denied him in the second half and our guys did a great job of putting on ball pressure.”
Mizzou outscored MVSU 43-25 in the second half to pull away for the lopsided victory. While the game didn’t go exactly the way the team thought it would, Gates was proud of his players for figuring it out.
Isaiah Mosley comes alive
The Missouri State transfer had his best game of the season and was a big reason why the Tigers built momentum in the second half.
Though he’s mostly been used as a facilitator since returning Columbia, his hometown, Mosley went back to his roots as a bucket-getter on Sunday. After being held scoreless in four minutes during the first half, Mosley poured on 18 points in the second, with two blocks, two assists and rebound to go along with it.
Aside from Gholston, Mosley was the only ball-handler that got consistent penetration against MVSU’s zone defense. Gates also thought he had a better night passing than the five turnovers he posted — some of the open shots he attempted to assist on didn’t fall in.
It was the most impactful Mosley had been through five games as a Tiger.
“He was able to find guys, but also draw attention,” Gates said. “And I thought we did get stagnant by watching him once he got to play versus creating avenues and alleys for him to, you know, sort of see. And that that's something we'll fix.”
D’Moi Hodge’s sticky hands
The British Virgin Islands native tied Mosley for the team lead with 18 points, but also chipped in four rebounds, two assists and a career-high six steals.
Hodge said his activity on defense stems from an agreement he has with Special Assistant to Head Coach Ryan Sharbaugh.
“I have a rule with Coach Sharbaugh, we'll be talking and I'll tell him I have to get, like, eight deflections,” Hodge said. “So that's what drives me every day in practice and in games, is just to get deflections. And they turn out to be steals, but I don't really be going for the steal.”
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